Lake Huron... Canada back into the USA!
September 1 - 6, 2023
Leaving the North Channel was a long haul but it was worth it before the winds came in to wreak havoc on us. Danny and I had to call in to get clearance to enter the US. We had issues with this before when they approved me but not Danny. This time the customs agent could not get her video to work to see us. She asked her questions and said we were good. Then we got an email saying Danny was approved and I was not. There are no words for this process. On our way between Canada and the US, our cellphones with Tmobile service went back and forth welcoming us to the US and then to Canada and back and forth. It was pretty funny. We traveled down to Detour Village, Michigan where there was a marina. In Michigan, they have a Department of Natural Resources that run state marinas to provide refuge from bad weather. Each marina is anywhere from 20-30 miles from each other and are required to give any boater safe refuge from wind and storms. The facilities include fuel, pump out services, showers, and restroom facilities. I am surprised that neither Virginia or Maryland don't offer these services.
The Detour Village Marina is located where the ships exit Lake Superior on their way down south. You can sit and watch the ships as they pass. When I went to the Detour Museum, they have a map with the schedule of the ships that come through each week with what they are carrying and where they are going.
So you see the same ships on their scheduled days. The town itself is a small town of 350 people. While we were getting fuel, Danny talked to the guy working about when they closed(Oct 15) and what he was doing after they closed. He said he would do odds and ends until reopening in the spring. He went on to tell Danny it was relatively cheap to live there as your heating bill was your biggest expense. Danny turned around to me as he walked away and said, "that's because there is nothing to do here!" The Harbor host at the marina was a nice guy, Dave. He said the place to eat for a great burger was the Village Inn. It was a dive bar with good burgers, great onion petals, and Danny said great beer- Atwater Blond Ale. We sat at the bar and watched the Michigan State football game with the locals who were big fans. Once the game started, the guy playing music had to stop and everything focused on the football game. 
Our plan was to stay one night but the winds did not allow us to leave so we stayed 2 nights. The extra day in Detour started
with doing 2 loads of laundry. Luckily they had 2 machines but they had 1 in the men and 1 in the women's bathroom. Trying to be efficient, I knocked on the men's door and got no response so went in to start the washing machine. Both times for the washer and dryer, there was a man in the shower further back in the room. Both times I announced myself and they both said no problem. After that was completed, we "walked" the town. The Dollar General had more food than the grocery store! Danny bought a UP pastry which had beef, carrots, onions, and rutabaga. He said it was pretty good. Of course, I didn't taste it. After walking the few blocks there, Danny was not interested in any further exploration. So I decided to visit the Detour Museum and take the ferry over to Drummond Island. I had hoped maybe there would be someone on the other side that would do tours or drive you around but the lady at the museum said there was no one and no Uber or Lyft despite having 1200 year round residents and significantly more in the summer. So I planned to look for rock fossils, sea glass, and puddingstones. Roxanne was watching the US Open so David went with me.
The ferry from the beach we rode. It was very near the rock quarry. They produce dolomite stone from this quarry.
The museum was quaint and the woman was very nice. She had maps of Drummond Island and it was going to be too big to even cover on a bicycle for the afternoon so off we went on the ferry to hangout in that area on the beach looking for items. Both David and I found things of interest so we were happy. We enjoyed speaking to the man working on the ferry about the area, way of life, and what happens when it gets cold. The ferry schedule stays the same 365 days a year until early into the morning hours for Friday and Saturday. In the winter when the water freezes over if they can make a channel to go back and forth in then they don't get hampered by the wind otherwise, they have to worry about wind and chunks of ice making for lots of problems. I asked about emergencies and we did see the second ferry. There is a second ferry there on the Drummond Island side. He said at the end of the day, the ferry is left there. The community ambulance brings the person to the ferry dock and then they are transported to Detour to go to the hospital in Sault Ste Marie or as they call it the "SOO" which is another 30 miles away. There is a school on the island that goes from kindergarten to 8th grade. When the students go to high school, they have to ride the ferry over to Detour Village. The ferry ride is about 10 minutes at best.
One of the favorite boat names I've seen- 1985 Sea RayDanny saw a bunch of guys on the docks in the late afternoon with no shirts and he asked them about being cold with the wind blowing. They simply answered, it was there last Hurrah for the summer- makes sense to me! The evening ended with the Loopers meeting for Docktails and discussing our plans for cruising Lake Michigan as well as handling the reopening of the locks around Chicago going south. We continue to meet new people with each gathering we have which is good!
An interesting sunset following Docktails over top of the grotto at the Catholic church.
Les Cheneaux Islands
These islands were not on our radar until we saw a post from someone we met early on the Loop who mentioned how much they enjoyed staying here. The major towns are Hessel and Cedarville. Danny looked over the wind forecast and we had to be prepared to leave at sunrise to get to Cedarville by noon before the winds kicked up. So off we went, ran into a little rain but the ride was great! Cedarville has a small state marina and we made arrangements to come here for 1 night and get us closer to Mackinac Island. Again, another small town but they have a brewery, distillery, good restaurants, and a few stores. It was Labor Day weekend so the stores were not open but no big deal. 
Right before sunrise leaving Detour Village.
Right before sunrise leaving Detour Village. Approaching DeTour Reef Lighthouse
The Other Woman making her way down Lake Huron with ominous clouds.
Settled in place at the Cedarville marina with adult and immature swans feeding behind the boat.
Mackinac Island
Again, we got lucky traveling in Lake Huron. Danny and I enjoyed our travel from Cedarville to Mackinac Island. The water was beautiful seeing colors we have not seen since Florida.
There was some reluctance of staying on the island in the marina as some Loopers had complained about the boat movement due to ferry wakes. We were so happy we stayed here and had no issues with the ferry wakes.
On the way into Mackinac Island, we saw Round Island Lighthouse and Round Island Passage Light.
As we came into the marina, we passed the ferry stop, where the horses were waiting for deliveries.
We were to arrive the day after Labor Day but came in on Labor Day as the marina could accommodate us. While riding bikes found a small Viking boat out in the harbor and a bus tour with AARP members. Those people came over by ferry. By the evening, they were gone. We did lots of walking and bike riding throughout the island. Roxanne made the comment it reminded her of a Disney World theme where everything was clean and simple. The homes are Victorian style or newer built homes further away from the major streets and marina. In addition to the Grand Hotel, there are a number of smaller hotels as well as Bed & Breakfast homes. The landscaping is outstanding and there are no cars which has been this way since 1895. We saw flatbed containers carrying supplies on the street pulled by horses, young men from the different overnight facilities carrying up to 3 suitcases on top of their handlebars for people getting off or on the ferry. Horses carry people under a taxi service. So transportation occurs either by foot, bicycle, or the horses. Only people who live on the island or own property are allowed motorized scooters.
The "beaches" are rocky and we did not see anyone swimming in the water. It was clear and easy to see the bottom which also was rocky. From the back of our boat we could see these beautiful homes and leaving the marina, items being delivered by the horses on a flatbed.
Danny and I walked about 3 miles when we originally arrived to go see the Arch Rock. I had seen pictures and wanted to make sure I did not miss it. It was 207 steps up from the road which sounded like nothing difficult but it was straight up the side of the limestone structure.
Before the walk up...
Just gorgeous!
After a few minutes catching our breath!
On our first evening, we had another docktails as 17 boats were in the marina doing the Great Loop. Following that the 4 of us went to have dinner at the 1852 Grill Room and had a fantastic dinner. Danny and I had surf and turf which was filet mignon and then grilled white fish.
Our plans for day 2 was to ride around the 8 mile perimeter of the island and stop at Fort Mackinac, The Grand Hotel, cemeteries on the island, Little Stone Church, and numerous geological findings on the island. Mackinac Island was named Michilimackinac by the Indian tribes. This word means "great turtle" as they felt the island appeared as a great turtle rising out of the water. They came here every summer to fish the waters. The French called it Mackinac with the "c" being silent for its current name pronounced - Mackinaw. The French set up fur trading activity and missionaries coming to the island in 1671. Britain took control in 1761 and then United States after the American Revolution. John Jacob Astor, America's 1st millionaire, founded the American Fur Company and made Mackinac Island his northern HQ. The island was named a National Park 2 years after Yellowstone and also named a National Landmark because of the large number of late 18th century and early 19th century buildings in the upper midwest.
The Grand Hotel was absolutely beautiful inside and outside. The hotel has been in business since 1887, is said to have the longest porch in the world and be the largest summer hotel in the world. We spoke to a woman at the front desk asking questions about rooms and stays. I knew it was expensive but to what degree. According to her, they have 130,000 visitors a year with prices ranging from 400-2,000 dollars a day based on size of room and time of the year (and they are not open year round). There is an area you arrive at the hotel and if you are not staying there, you pay $10 per person for the day to enjoy walking through the hotel. We did that and went upstairs to the 5th floor where there is a cupola and bar looking out at Lake Huron and the start of Lake Michigan at the Mackinac Bridge. The young woman in charge was delightful and explained she was doing an internship in hotel management for a year from Budapest. She was here until October and then she will go to Snowmass in Colorado to work until next May. We enjoyed our food and drinks and wished her well.
The cemeteries were altogether in the same area. One was for military members and their dependents. I saw 2 interesting ones- one based on their age and they were a wife and the other was a soldier and the battles he fought in....
Along the marina wall, there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty donated by the Boy Scouts in 1949. They donated 200 in total between 1949 and 1952. The program was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts in 1950. The theme was "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty" to celebrate both liberty and freedom.
Not far from the Grand Hotel, is the Little Stone Church. Built between 1900 and 1904, it is built with stones found on the island. It operates only in the summer and is known for weddings. There are other churches on the island but this was my favorite. The stain glass shows the gathering of Indians with the reverend who was in charge of Indian affairs.
The relationship with the Americans and Indians had its ups and downs. The first treaty in 1835 returned back from Washington DC being nothing like what they agreed to initially. The 1836 Treaty of Washington gave the Americans the land below in yellow and allowed the tribes self government. The tribes refused to leave their established lands. Finally in 1855, they signed the Treaty of Detroit which removed the possibility of Indians being removed off their land.
Fort Mackinac was built by the British and taken over by the Americans after the Revolutionary war. In the War of 1812, Britain overwhelmed the Americans stationed here and remained at the fort until 1825, a full 10 years after the end of war. They fire a cannon every day 3 times a day which would make you jump when you heard it. The cannon on top of a cliff overlooking the marina was shot in the direction of the marina.
Our last night was spent at The Pink Pony for dinner outside on the back deck overlooking the water. The restaurant was located in the Chippewa Hotel. It was excellent food and Rum Runners with great views! It has been there since 1902, following Prohibition its new name became The Pink Pony named after the famous horses on the island.
We enjoyed Lake Huron and look forward to another visit!
TOTAL MILES TRAVELLED 4,708.70 miles
TOTAL DAYS- 297
TRAVEL DAYS- 111
Locks- 133
Bridges Openings- 49
Next up- Lake Michigan
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